Currently, known customer loyalty systems, such as so-called turnover collecting programs, mostly use paper-based media to facilitate the system or program. For example, letters may be sent to customers as account bills.
In addition to letters, packets with presents, vouchers, discount tickets, customer-cards and discount points are used, for example. However, electronic variants are now also used in the form of credit cards, e-mails and websites with secured user access. Accordingly, customer loyalty programs may be conducted or realized by means of a multimedia application.
However, only a few companies employ a telecommunication system for the operation such customer loyalty programs, for example, a movable data terminal as medium for entering discount points.
An example is a method being currently on the market, the customer loyalty program “VodafoneStars” of Vodafone GmbH, which is realised and managed by the assignee of this applicant. This loyalty program bases on the one hand on usage of mobile communication technology as information and communication media, on the other hand in the form of digital bonus such as downloadable games or computer programs. A bonus is understood as granted multimedia-based services in the form of telecommunication or telecommunications services. Thus, a letter is no longer mailed with an account bill but an electronic message. Furthermore, there will not be issued sales slips or accessories with trade mark devices, but digital bonus as mobile coupons or games. Furthermore, for example, services or marketing with mobile contents as mobile applications come thereby into question. Mobile content, for example, is understood generally as so-called content-data, i.e. in particular music-data, video-data, multimedia-data, text data, measurement values, application programs, in particular games, navigation-data or other software.
As typical data terminal device or data terminal device means on which an application, i.e. an user programs, of the aforementioned kind may run, for example, a cellular or radio frequency telephone or smart phone, a portable computer or a PDA (Personal Data Assistant) with a radio frequency module come into consideration as mobile radio frequency device.
Aside, as to the considered data terminal means, it can by principle concern every electronic device having a form factor coming into question which is portable or can be made portable and comprises a therefor suitable interface to a mobile radio frequency network, for example a GSM-, UMTS- or CDMA-Network or related or adapted technology to the terminal device and can be addressed in a respective manner.
The data terminal device means may, for example, be located in a cellular communication service area, which is covered from one or a plurality of base stations and in which the pre-condition for an transmission operation with respective data transmission apparatuses are given.
The problem of a mobile application with mobile contents arises now essentially how to cope with a complex requirement profile being considered closer in the following, where mutually opposite requirements can emerge, which in turn can be dependent on each other.
Firstly, as to the aforementioned applications it is to speak of wireless applications, which are used for the applications in the aforementioned devices.
In mobile applications of such kind, there is therefore an environment with limited resources in view of network capabilities, display, memory, processor, storable available energy in connection with achievable operating time and input/output terminals.
Further, the usage context of wireless applications, although there could be similarities for wireless applications in view of the aforementioned technologies on first glance, is very different against the one of solid-net-internet applications. Also, it does not concern a downsized or minimized version of solid-net applications, namely because the usage context is a complete different one. The mobile users have to get by with very limited input-/output capabilites, for example, a little alphanumeric input-block or a little display device, which result because of the outer dimensions of the devices.
Aside, the available network connections are not only considerably slower, be it in view of atmospheric influences on transmission channels and propagation phenomenons up to aspects of channel loading, but the are also more expensive.
Firstly, it is on the one hand to be assumed that wired or wireless interfaces on the basis of employing propagating waves are not limitless expandable, be it due to the used frequency bandwidth, the used transmission method, the thereby achievable signal-to-noise-ratio, or the increasing noise by a great number of participants.
On the other hand, the assumption appears to be justified, that in way of the foreseeable technological continuous development in view of the necessary investment cost, the number of users and the application cases on available interfaces will increase over-proportionally to the available channels, the more so as the used methods provide multiple channel loading.
Therefore, available resources as transmission channels will be strained in any case, which can go at the expense of quality for service or transmission, respectively.
But the aforedescribed specification profile consists of the requirement of memory-saving realisation for example in view of terminal device memory and computing power and energy consumption.
In this connection, the question arises, how reasonable it is, that client-bases applications, or applications which run only or substantially on the server, use the terminal device more ore less as a (primitive) input/output apparatus. In this case, a client-server network, where at least one server is connected with one client and forms a network, is used, and any transmission path for mutual information exchange exists between this two network participants.
In turn, the available data rates and channels in connection with the nature of the data to be transmitted and to be authorized, play a role, for example block size or real-time requirements, as at such transmission between client and server, disadvantageous wait-times or delays can emerge.
Recapitulating, in view of the shown requirement profile, thus, for the user of mobile applications and mobile content, which the applicant can make available, is requested, strongly simplified, substantially at first a small transmission effort per se, a big measure of independency, fast availability of contents, and high user acceptance, and namely at small data rates and data volume, respectively and justifiable or reasonable costs.
Thus, the data processing of the data on a central server is insofar promising, as the respective management tasks there can be handled centrally.
But thereby, an improvement of the user guidance by provision of suitable means and mobile applications, respectively, is indeed desirable which exceeds the typical explicit customer setting.
At conventional systems, the delivery of contents takes place over a data transmission channel to the mobile radio frequency device by means of packeted data or data packets. Thereby, the common transmission channel is for example an air interface, which is based on the GSM-OTA (global system mobile-over-the-air) method. The used mobile radio frequency device also offers further interfaces to other devices or the Internet, e.g. Universal Serial Bus, Firewire, Blue Tooth, Infrared, HTTP, HTTPS, SSH, LAN oder MIDI (Musical Instruments Digital Interface).
For mobile applications, in the state of the art, there are applied substantially two approaches on the basis of the following principles.
According to a first approach, the application is carried out message-based, i.e. by short message, SMS. This is transmitted regularly over the signalling channel with up to 160 Characters. Disadvantageous to the SMS-communication is that it is designed asynchronous. Thus, the consumer does not obtain a immediate acknowledgment or feedback of the validity of his messages. Aside, he does neither obtain a confirmation over access nor over the time of delivery of his message.
According to a second approach, the application is WAP—(Wireless Application Protocol) or WEB-based. Thereby, a radio frequency telephone with WAP-capabilities exists which can be located in an network connection with a content provider, a short message server and a mobile switching means, as for example a base station of a radio frequency network. Here is the possibility, as far as the network conditions allow, for an immediate response. However, the communication is limited on circumstances, under which a mobile IP-connection is possible. In addition, costs for the communication are due at once.
Aside, the system configuration described in US 2003/02224810A for a WAP-Push of an SMS be drawn as example. A so-called Push is thereby a data shifting or displacement from a server to a client. In reverse direction, i.e. at a data shifting operation from a client to a server, one talks about a so-called Pull. The data shifting thereby bases on a bi-directional data transmission.
For the proposed WAP data shifting operation, under usage of a bi-directional communication way from the processing unit of the radio frequency phone, with memory-processor-system with a therefore provided application program, a short message is transmitted from the push content server in the terminal device.
Thereby, in terms of transmission, an additional middle program is inserted as intermediary, which is effective, according to the setting of the terminal device, like a kind of multiplexer and an easy internal router for arriving messages, respectively, according to predetermined or preset modes of behaviour. By the additional instance on the one hand, the processing expense in the terminal device is increased significantly, on the other hand, the whole system functions only reliable, if the terminal device is constantly in the network.
Besides the pure content there is also expense for identification and encryption necessary, which entails a substantial or predominant part of the communication expense. Thereby, an encrypted data key is typically transmitted for example via a signalising channel of the mobile radio frequency network, i.e. as SMS, while the transmission of the encrypted data itself is carried out over a GSM data channel. Thereby, the disadvantage of an unequal channel loading can become apparent, on the one hand, available channels can not be utilized.
Also the typical setup, at least a conventional client-server configuration, or as triangle-relation consisting of a kind of licence server for the management of content-related usage rights, for example a content provider and the here considered terminal device client of the user, already provide for a communication expense where in turn continuous presence of the client in the network is required. Thereby, such a system is in terms of accounting relatively intransparent for the user and can meet trust problems at the user. This can even lead thereto that the user avoids an Internet usage and uses his terminal device predominantly for telephony.
In FIG. 1, there is shown the schematic diagram of a conventional arrangement of a client-server configuration 100. In this arrangement, a client 110 is provided, for example a mobile terminal device of the aforementioned type. The client 110 contains a sub-division 120, whereby the sub-division 120 can be done in several levels of hard- and software, for example according to a layer model. At hand, the sub-division 120 specifies a boundary between a hardware level 130 and a software level 140.
Within the hardware level 130 there are provided simplified an output unit 150, e.g. a display, and an input unit 160, e.g. and input field of the mobile terminal device, which represent a user interface, with which the user can communicate.
Within the software level 140 there is located a program with a first module 190. The first program module 190 is shaped for the control of outputs in the hardware level 130 and for receipt of inputs from the hardware level 130. A second module 200 is formed for transmission and forwarding, respectively, and reception over a bi-directional data connection 210, 220, for example an atmospheric transmission path of the aforementioned kind and controls a not-shown hardware for transmission.
In the arrangement of FIG. 1, there is further provided a server 300, which comprises a hardware level 310. In the hardware level 310, there is contained a module 320, which is formed for a control of an also not-shown hardware for transmission to the client 110 and for the operation of the data connection 210, 220.
Furthermore, the server 300 contains a sub-division 330, which represents a boundary between the hardware level 310 and a software level 340. By the sub-division 330, it shall be suggested a strongly simplified ISO/OSI layer model, where a hardware layer as hardware level 310 and a software layer as software level 340 (as well as a sandwiched transport layer not shown) are used.
In the software level 340, which also contains an application, there is located a first module 350, which contains a content, e.g. a data bank for management of contents based on HTML, and a second module 360, which contains a program logic, e.g. a Java script or another script- or interpreter-based language.
In the software level 340, the application can also contain of other constituents, relational data structures and therewith corresponding management structures.
In operation, the client-server configuration substantially functions such that the client operates like an input/output Terminal, i.e. it represents a kind of sourced-out or remote hardware of the server.
Thereby, the application in consequence substantially runs only on the server, so that input- and output are only possible when the client is connected.
Insofar it is assumed that more transmission takes places from server to client on the data connection 220, as in reverse direction on the connection 210. When additionally the client establishes contact with the server automatically in the scope of the application, constant connection costs are generated.
Furthermore, the afore mentioned typical approach of resolution is afflicted with latency, for example according to the loading of the server, which can effect appreciable reaction times or delay, which visibly limit user tolerance. When additionally the user with his terminal device departs of the communication service area or the reception conditions do not offer a sufficient service quality or possibility for connection, this can lead to a sudden crash of the application and mean a possible data loss. For example the user would have to repeat the input of telephone numbers or schedules-as far as possible.
Thus, there is need to improve the operation of a client in a client-server configuration.